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Beta Taurius II Campaign/Sigmaverse
|conc= |next= |name=Beta Taurius II Campaign |image= |conflict= |date=November 30, 2537—May 28, 2539 |place=Beta Taurius II |result=Pyrrhic Covenant victory *Beta Taurius II and its moons are *The Covenant gains a safe passageway into the |side1= |side2= |side3=Various small cells |comm1=* * Edward Ralstone * Kenneth Masters *General Mathew Newellberg * Daniel Redmund |comm2=* *Minister of Jubilance * Wira Jur 'Nofatinee *Supreme Comander Xora Wom 'Arodee |comm3=*First Lieutenant Mathew Mor |forces1=* **Beta Taurius Defense Fleet **3rd Naval Fleet **6th Naval Fleet **12th Naval Fleet *** **17th Naval Fleet **18th Naval Fleet *** **23rd Naval Fleet **27th Naval Fleet **31st Naval Fleet **Naval Special Warfare Command ***Naval Special Weapons ****Assorted units ** **Taurian "Wet Navy" * ** ***Various ** units * ** *** ***Whiskey-04 **UNSC Marine Corps Hostile Environments and Hazardous Operations Group ** *Taurian units ** * *Various civilian volunteers and Taurian law enforcement units |forces2=*'' '' **''Fleet of Divine Fate'' **''Fleet of Odious Mirth'' **''Second Fleet of Abstinent Perserverance'' *''Fourth Overseeing Fleet of Indistinct Solidarity'' **''Third Fleet of Recombinant Menace'' **''Fifth Fleet of Obstinate Regality'' **''Second Fleet of Degenerate Secularity'' **''Minor Fleet of Audacious Wrath'' *''Army of Ceremonious Sanctity'' **''Eleventh Imperial Artillery Division of Morose Countenance'' **''First Imperial Artillery Division of Prodigious Virulence'' **''Seventh Cavalry Division of Chivalrous Dedication'' *''Army of Vengeful Intent'' **''Fourth Imperial Artillery Division of Quintessential Obscurity'' *''Army of Pious Serenity'' *''Army of Impotent Transgression'' *''Third Overseeing Army of Righteous Emnity'' **''Army of Forthright Justice'' ***''Imperial Artillery Division of Tumultuous Reformation'' **''Sixth Minor Army of Luminous Youth'' **''Second Army of Unencumbered Humility'' ***''Cavalry Division of Indefinite Loyalty'' |forces3= Various, included both uniformed and non-uniformed fighters |casual1= Heavy civilian and military losses |casual2= Heavy losses |casual3= Unknown, presumably heavy losses }} The Beta Taurius II Campaign was a large-scale engagement during the Human-Covenant War that lasted well over a year. Beta Taurius II became one of the last of the to be glassed by the Covenant, and its destruction was key for allowing the Covenant into the Inner Colonies and ever closer to fortress worlds such as and . The Beta Taurius II Campaign was a harsh and unforgiving bloodbath, with enormous casualties inflicted on all sides. It eventually devolved into a conflict of attrition, becoming a contest to strategically deplete and deprive resources. The UNSC and the Covenant quickly became locked in a bitter stalemate, drawing out the conflict for roughly 18 months. The UNSC fought the Covenant invaders tooth-and-nail for weeks on end over even the smallest pieces of land, in a manner similar to the brutal trench warfare that was characteristic of the First World War, sans the namesake trenches in most cases. Order of Battle Prelude Blockade By late 2537, the Covenant had thoroughly ravaged the Outer Colonies, and was now continuing its path of destruction into the Inner Colonies. However, a few surviving outer colonies had pooled their military resources to blockade the Inner Colonies and carefully monitor activity, in a desperate effort to impede the Covenant's progress. This made it difficult for the Covenant to support their attacks on the Inner Colonies, and when fell to SPARTAN-III Alpha Company, it became even harder to do so. The Covenant Prepares to Attack the Beta Taurius System The Covenant needed to punch a hole in the blockade in order to effectively continue their genocidal campaign against humanity. They set their sights on Beta Taurius II, an isolated colony near located directly in the middle of the blockade. The Fleet of Odious Mirth, a sub-fleet of the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction, dispatched a small group of ships led by the Meager Offerings of Wisdom to set up bases and fortifications on Beta Taurius II and several of its moons. Once this had been completed, a portion of the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction led by Supreme Commander Wira Jur 'Nofatinee and the High Prophet of Regret headed to the Beta Taurius system. The Invasion Begins The assault force arrived near Beta Taurius II on the morning of November 30, 2537. The UNSC was immediately alerted to their presence thanks to the enormous slipspace rupture, but they were soon overwhelmed by Covenant ground forces teleported to the surface via deployed by the Meager Offerings of Wisdom. For two months the vastly outnumbered human forces on Beta Taurius II attempted to fend off the invaders, but by February the planet was nearly lost. Admiral Cole Takes Command On February 27, 2538, UNSC reinforcements finally arrived in the Beta Taurius system, headed by none other than Admiral Preston J. Cole. Admiral Cole quickly managed to secure a foothold in orbit over Beta Taurius II, and by February 28 fresh UNSC troops began landing on the surface of the colony. Vice Admiral Edward Ralstone of the Beta Taurius Defense Fleet handed over command of UNSC forces in the Beta Taurius system to Admiral Cole, and by early March UNSC forces had managed to take back much of Beta Taurius II from the Covenant. Covenant Reinforcements Now outnumbered five-to-one in space and losing ground quickly following the arrival of Admiral Cole's fleet, Supreme Commander Wira Jur 'Nofatinee of the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction requested that another fleet be diverted to the Beta Taurius system. The granted 'Nofatinee's request. On April 16, 2538, the Fourth Overseeing Fleet of Indistinct Solidarity, commanded by Supreme Commander Xora Wom 'Arodee, arrived in the Beta Taurius system to assist the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction. By this time, the feared fleet which had once been led by was in its death throes. 'Arodee summoned 'Nofatinee aboard his flagship, the Solemn Pledge of Servitude, to relieve him of command of his fleet. On board, 'Nofatinee pleaded for 'Arodee to kill him on the bridge of the ship, to which 'Arodee complied. Now in control of both his own fleet and the remnants of the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction, 'Arodee quickly set to work planning how to complete the invasion and destruction of Beta Taurius II. Arctic Campaign By the time that 'Arodee arrived in the Beta Taurius system, Admiral Cole had pushed the Covenant ground forces on Beta Taurius II's surface northward all the way to the planet's arctic regions. There, the beleaguered Covenant invaders had successfully fought the UNSC to a stalemate, taking advantage of the many difficulties that the world's incredibly frigid presented to the UNSC, since the Covenant's more advanced technologies made many of the hazards of the bitter cold a virtual non-issue. The arrival of fresh troops in the system tipped the scales, however, allowing the Covenant to begin pushing South and regain ground. The UNSC, of course, wasn't going to allow this without a very brutal fight, and thus began the especially unforgiving warfare that would come to characterize the rest of the campaign.